S.C. firm begins $20M Pr. George complex

Humanities Foundation, a nonprofit developer out of South Carolina, broke ground Monday on a planned two-phase, 156-unit apartment complex in Prince George to be called Puddledock Place Apartments.

The two phases will total 180,000 square feet on five acres at 1910 Fine St., with a total development cost of about $20.7 million.

Construction is being funded by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and equity from the Richman Group, an investment firm. The project is also eligible for low-income housing tax credits from the Virginia Housing Development Authority and the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Affordable Housing Program.

Launched in 1992, the Humanities Foundation builds housing developments aimed at low-income families. It has 17 developments in three states, according to its website. Puddledock will be its third in Virginia and first in the Richmond area.

“We think there’s a big need for affordable housing in that area,” said Shane Doran, a spokesperson for the developer.

The first phase of the project will comprise 84 units and will cost $11.7 million, the organization said. The 101,500-square-foot section will house 60 two-bedroom units with rent ranging from $563 to $704 per month.

A $9 million second phase of the development, Puddledock Place II, will be 78,500 square feet and include 72 units. Construction will begin on that phase this year, Doran said.

The second phase will include a dozen one-bedroom, 750-square-foot units with rents between $468 and $578 per month and 42 two-bedroom, 975-square-foot units for $707 per month. Eighteen units will have three bedrooms and two bathrooms each, totaling 1,125 square feet, and cost $833 per month.

The Humanities Foundation purchased the land for the project this month from James L. Clayton Enterprises for $1.2 million. Dawn Griggs of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer represented the seller.

The plot is near the South Park mall and Fort Lee. Doran said the nearby amenities were the developer’s biggest draw to that area.

“It’s very competitive, and VHDA has very specific criteria,” Doran said. “The main thing they look for is being close to amenities. They don’t want it to be isolated, and this location fits in perfectly with that.”

South Carolina-based Connelly Builders is the general contractor for the project.

Construction is expected to take 11 months on each phase, Doran said. The first phase of the project should be complete by June or July of 2014, he said. The project’s second phase is expected to be complete by the end of 2014.

Correction: A previous version of this story stated that the new development is in Hopewell. It is in Prince George.